d to embrace him. With
his hair falling to his waist, his graceful figure, his wilful air,
and his bold bearing, Yvon was beloved by all the Bretons. At twelve
years of age he had bravely attacked and killed a wolf with an ax,
which had won him the name of _Fearless_. He deserved the title, for
never was there a bolder heart.

One day, when the baron had stayed at home, and was amusing himself by
breaking a lance with his squire, Yvon entered the armory in a
traveling dress, and, bending one knee to the ground, "My lord and
father," said he to the baron, "I come to ask your blessing. The house
of Kerver is rich in knights, and has no need of a child; it is time
for me to go to seek my fortune. I wish to go to distant countries to
try my strength and to make myself a name."

"You are right, Fearless," replied the baron, more moved than he
wished to appear. "I will not keep you back; I have no right to do so;
but you are very young, my child; perhaps it would be better for you
to stay another year with us."

"I am sixteen, my father; at that age you had already fought one of
the proudest lords of the country. I have not forgotten that our arms
are a unicorn ripping up a lion, and our motto. Onward! I do not wish
the Kervers to blush for their last child."

Yvon received his father's blessing, shook hands with his brothers,
embraced his sisters, bid adieu to all the weeping vassals, and set
out with a light heart.

Nothing stopped him on his way. A river appeared, he swam it; a
mountain, he climbed it; a forest, he made his way through it with the
sun for a guide. "_On--the Kerver!_" he cried, whenever he met with an
obstacle, and went straight forward in spite of everything.

For three years he had been roaming over the world in search of
adventures, sometimes conquering, sometimes conquered, always bold and
gay, when he received an offer to go to fight the heathen of Norway.
To kill unbelievers and to conquer a kingdom was a double pleasure.
Yvon enlisted twelve brave comrades, freighted a ship, and hoisted
from the mainmast a blue standard with the unicorn and motto of the
Kervers.

The sea was calm, the wind fair, and the night serene. Yvon,
stretched on the deck, watched the stars, and sought the one which
cast its trembling light on his father's castle. All at once the
vessel struck upon a rock; a terrible crash was heard; the sails fell
like tinder; and an enormous wave burst over the deck and swept away
e